Pakistan announce S.Africa series schedule

KARACHI: Pakistan on Tuesday announced the schedule for its series against South Africa in October, involving two Tests, five one-day matches and two Twenty20 games. The series will be played in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- Pakistan's de facto home grounds for international cricket since 2009. ...

PEPSI presents Advance Telecom Ramadan T20 Cup 2013

                                                               PEPSI PRESENTS ADVANCE TELECOM RAMADAN T-20 CUP 2013

Karachi July 5, 2013: Pakistan Cricket Board today announced the schedule of Ramadan T-20 Cup 2013 in a press conference at National Stadium, Karachi. . Ten teams divided into Two groups will compete in this tournament. The tournament will start from July 6. Semi Finals will be played on 23rd & 24th July and Final will be played on 25^th July at National Stadium Karachi.

Umar vows to give best in wicket-keeping

09 July, 2013 

ISLAMABAD: Young cricketer and batsman wicket-keeper Umar Akmal hoped to ensure to become a permanent member in national team by performing impressively in the upcoming Caribbean tour. Talking to private news channel, Umar Akmal said that he took his exclusion from the side as a lesson and planned to make the necessary changes to cement his place in the team.

He said this exclusion made him think about his approach to batting and the changes he needed to make as a batsman. “I think you'll see a more mature Umar Akmal at the crease on the tour of the Caribbean and in the future. I don't think there will be a total overhaul of my approach, style and shot selection, but there will be some changes,” Umar hoped.

He said that he had always enjoyed batting and fielding but bowling and wicket-keeping had never really been in his plans.

Pak cricket structure needs `dire` change, not batting coach: Miandad

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Karachi: Pakistan cricket icon and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Director General Javed Miandad has said that there was a dire need of improvement in the cricket structure of the country instead of having a batting coach.

Miandad believes that Pakistan sorely needs improvement in their domestic cricket structure to have a strong back up for producing quality and world-class players.

Miandad said that as he believed that a cricketer is also his own coach, therefore the team does not need specialist coaches for all the three departments if they polish and groom their youth and upcoming players well, and can get desired results with only one coach.

Stating that the team had two or three back-up teams which used to wait for their entry in the national squad during his era, Miandad also said that due to having ample back-up behind, all the players had to put extra efforts in giving their best performances and in case they would not perform, the best replacements were already there.

However, Miandad lamented that there is no enough back up to replace the current players, adding that even though there is no dearth of talent in the country, there is a need to improve structure through which they can explore and get the best lot of players in the team.

Dismissing suggestions that he was drawing hefty amounts from the board and doing nothing for the betterment of cricket, Miandad further said that he and others like him have contributed a lot to Pakistan cricket which cannot be paid back, adding that the amount the board is paying to him is in fact very low as compared to his calibre.

Miandad also said that there are many players who earn more than his salary for a month just by appearing in a few TV programmes even if they do not have much worth.

Although Miandad declined to render his services as a full-time batting coach, he said that he could take up the role for a short time to help batsmen improve their techniques and skills.

Stating that the team should forget about their past disasters and focus on the upcoming West Indies tour, Miandad also said that he hoped for the team to have a good performance in the Caribbean because of the favourable conditions in the country.

Pak women cricket captain applauds team`s performance
Islamabad: The captain of the Pakistani women`s cricket team, Sana Mir, has said their team has reached new heights.

In an interview with PakPassion.net, Mir said that few years ago, they never even managed to get into winning positions against the top teams, but they have now improved to the point that they can set the challenge of managing the pressure situations.

The 27-year-old said that Pakistan Cricket Board has always assigned coaches to the Women`s team.

She added if there is any financial support available for women`s sport in Pakistan, it will be given to women`s cricket.

Asked about the challenges she had to face in her career, Mir replied that the biggest challenge was finding people to play cricket with.

She added that there were no grass-roots girl`s cricket teams. And she usually ended up playing cricket with the boys because very few women were involved in sport.

She said that there are still some issues around such sponsorship and equipment, but things are a lot better than they used to be.


About being appointing as the captain of the team, Mir said it felt wonderful, adding that prior to her appointment as national captain, she was captain of the domestic side for two or three years. 

Wasim Akram bowled over by Melbourne maiden

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 11:39:21 GMT

Wasim Akram has got engaged to a former public relations consultant from Melbourne after proposing her on his knee.

Pakistan cricket team off to West Indies

08 July, 2013 

KARACHI: Pakistan's one-day squad left for the Caribbean with captain Misbah-ul Haq hoping to reverse the team's dwindling fortunes in the limited over matches.

Pakistan will play five one-day and two Twenty20 matches on the tour, with the first match in Guyana on July 14.

Misbah-ul Haq will lead the one-day team while Mohammad Hafeez will skipper the Twenty20 side.

Misbah said the tour was important as it would help the team regain their confidence after a humiliating Champions Trophy last month, in which Pakistan lost all three matches.

"We will do our best to play hard and positive cricket and ensure that a poor show in the Champions Trophy is behind us," Misbah said before their departure late Sunday.

"The squad is focused on putting up a good show which will help in ending the disappointment of our fans and bring the confidence back."

Misbah said they faced a challenging proposition playing the Windies on their home soil.

"West Indies is a tough opposition and their batting strength is aggressive but I am sure that our team will do well in all three departments of the game," said Misbah.

Dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi was recalled in the 16-man squad after missing the Champions Trophy in England, while there were also recalls for Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shahzad.

Umar will also keep wicket in the absence of his elder brother Kamran, dropped for the series.

Also left out were Shoaib Malik and Imran Farhat who both failed in the Champions Trophy.

Three players -- Hamad Azam, Zulfiqar Baber and Sohail Tanveer -- will leave for the Caribbean later to feature in the two Twenty20 matches.

End.